Fresno, CA, July 14, 2025 – National insurance defense firm Tyson & Mendes, LLP announced today a significant trial victory in a high-stakes three-vehicle accident case. Appealing to jurors’ reasonableness and common sense, Fresno Branch Office Managing Partner David Frankenberger and Fresno Partner Sara Woods persuaded the jury our client was not negligent and bore no fault in the crash (Sincerely Martinez v. Juan M. Gonzalez-Martinez, Tulare County Superior Court, Case No. 23STCV02137).

This was a disputed liability case involving three cars and two impacts. The plaintiff sued two defendants, including Tyson & Mendes’ client. The other defendant had a limited insurance policy and settled on the eve of trial. The plaintiff, who was in her 30s, demanded more than $6 million at trial. The plaintiff had sustained a brachial plexus injury resulting in permanent loss of use of her dominant right arm.

While testifying, Tyson & Mendes’ client accepted responsibility for his own actions, explaining how he complied with traffic laws and exercised extra caution while towing a trailer. David Frankenberger said, “We appealed to the jury’s common sense,” in closing argument.

“Reasonableness prevailed at trial,” said Sara Woods. “We showed the jury our client acted reasonably to respond to an emergency he had no role in creating. Ultimately, the jury concluded there was nothing our client could do to avoid the second impact with plaintiff’s vehicle.”

The jury returned a defense verdict which saved the client, and the insurer, more than $6 million in exposure.

For more information and to view career opportunities, visit www.tysonmendes.com.

About Tyson & Mendes LLP

Tyson & Mendes LLP is a nationwide, AV-rated litigation and trial firm specializing in insurance defense and protecting its clients from Nuclear Verdicts®. Founded in 2002 by Robert Tyson and Patrick Mendes, the firm has experienced tremendous growth, with offices across the United States. Tyson & Mendes is known for its expertise in defending corporations, insurance companies, and their clients against Nuclear Verdicts®.

Serving 22 states nationwide, Tyson & Mendes is one of the fastest-growing civil defense firms in the U.S. and is proud to offer one of the fastest and clearest paths to partnership for its attorneys of any mid-sized law firm in the U.S. The firm is honored to be recognized as a 2024 Best Law Firm by Best Lawyers, named a 2024 Best Company to Work For: Law Firms edition by U.S. News & World Report, awarded the 2023 Liberty Mutual Insurance External Law Firm Partner of the Year Award, awarded the No. 1 “Ceiling Smasher” in Law360’s 2022 Glass Ceiling Report for female equity partnership, and shortlisted for Financial Times’ 2022 Innovative Lawyers North America Award.

For more information, visit www.tysonmendes.com

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